A pneumatic tire used for a four-wheel drive vehicle and a sport utility vehicle (suv) is frequently used for running on an uneven terrain. Hence, a sidewall portion of the tire collides against a stone on a road surface during running and a cut is generated in the sidewall portion causing damage to the tire in some cases.
To avoid such a problem, as shown in FIG. 9 for example, it is conventionally proposed to provide a sidewall portion a with a side protector b bulging from an outer surface of the sidewall portion a to enhance the cut resistance (see patent document 1 for example).    [PTL 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-112505